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Very clean and in great shape book, no writing or highlighting. Dust cover has minor scuffs, rubbing, scratches, and edgewear. Minor smudges around book edges. Access codes and supplemental materials not guaranteed. Very clean and in great shape book, no writing or highlighting. Dust cover has minor scuffs, rubbing, scratches, and edgewear. Minor smudges around book edges. Access codes and supplemental materials not guaranteed. See less
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The Dress Diary: Secrets from a Victorian Woman's Wardrobe Hardcover – June 6, 2023

by Dr. Kate Strasdin (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 121 ratings
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*A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE*

A revealing and unique portrait of Victorian life as told through the discovery of one woman's textile scrapbook.

In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments - some her own, others donated by family and friends - she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of their lives. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes.

Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Using her expertise, Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages, and the lives of the people within. Her findings are remarkable. Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry. This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: not the grandees of traditional written histories, but the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pegasus Books
  4. Publication date
    June 6, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1639364218
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1639364213
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Praise from Victoria Finlay

Praise from Lynn Knight

Praise from Judith Flanders

Praise from Clare Hunter

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A vivid portrait of 19th-century life. Like an intrepid detective, Strasdin follows each thread and reconstructs Anne Sykes’s life. Using a combination of highly illustrative prose and reproductions of fashion plates, the author details the evolution of fashionable silhouettes and helps us to envision how the small bits of fabric might have looked as complete garments. Strasdin’s detailed explication of Victorian-era dress is sure to delight the fashion history enthusiast, but The Dress Diary has much wider appeal. A compelling narrative that challenges the 'deep-seated perception of dress as superficial and inconsequential.'" -- The New York Times Book Review

"An irresistible glimpse into fashion from nearly two centuries ago. It’s a life in fabric; a poignant illustration of something seemingly ephemeral that has nonetheless endured." -- The Seattle Times

"An extraordinarily rich record of middle-class Victorian life, both at home and abroad. A fascinating book."
-- Guardian

"A questing and poignant social history." -- The Observer

"Snippets of fabric, snippets of biographical detail, snippets of historical evidence—this is a book entirely made up of snippets and I found it irresistible."
-- The Times

"Strasdin's painstaking detective work has uncovered many of the fascinating insights behind the fabric swatches contained in this unusual collection."


-- Sunday Times

“A vivid history of expansion and empire, all wrapped up in 2,184 pieces of cloth. If I ever were looking for a historical detective with whom to team up, Kate Strasdin would be at the top of my list.”

-- Victoria Finlay, BBC History Magazine, author of Fabric

"Teeming with history and detail - a fascinating exploration of how even the smallest scraps of fabric can open up large stories.”

-- Lynn Knight, author of The Button Box

"The story of a singular woman. Kate Strasdin's forensic detective work has finally let Mrs. Sykes—and her book—speak again.”

-- Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder

“Intriguing and engaging. A fascinating and creative unravelling of Anne's life and times.”

-- Clare Hunter, author of Threads of Life

About the Author

Dr. Kate Strasdin is a fashion historian, museum curator and lecturer at Falmouth University, where she teaches the history of Fashion Design, Marketing and Photography.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pegasus Books (June 6, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639364218
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639364213
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 121 ratings

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Kate Strasdin

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
121 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Susan VM
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024
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Fabric is so often dismissed as trivial by our over-supplied culture— but thoughtful consideration pays off. The author uses this astounding scrapbook loaded with 19th century fabric swatches bearing simple annotations, to reveal a normally unconsidered world of social networks and material considerations. This rich view into the past was reached with a remarkable amount of sleuthing and delving. Out of all this comes a surprisingly expanded view of history with moving parts, begun with asking questions of the textile clues left for the right person to interpret. While as the author admits, much of the personal aspects she offers is speculative, but it is plausible. In the end, sensing the personal in history is the ultimate reward. Well done! Apart from that, I agree that I would have been thrilled to see a larger format with more pages shared— with captions rather than notes in back.
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GardenDoggo
5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
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In many ways, this book is a detective story, as the author researches the life of Anne Sykes, whose mysterious fabric diary came into her hands. I am amazed at how much detail she was able to find. I was entirely swept up in Anne’s life and times and very moved at the end when the author stood at her grave. I heartily recommend this lovely and informative book. Thank you, author, for the research and lively writing that brought Anne back to life! (My only criticism involves the lazy publisher who didn’t bother to insert page #s linking the text to the illustrations located at the back of the Kindle version book.)
16 people found this helpful
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Terri B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Secret History
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
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I liked the book and it did have a lot of details about Victorian clothing and fabric. It is about things that usually are never mentioned in a history book. The research process of the author is documented and interesting. I would like to know more about the illustrations and have better photos. The scrapbook, like many artifacts, leaves us wanting to know more and understanding why we can't have more.
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Carol couture
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fashion
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2023
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If you’re interested at all in historical fashions this is a must for your shelf!! Wonderful information about how the cotton industry literally exploded with many of the inventions developing in the same district!! I work in a large living historical museum that focuses on the 18 th century and was surprised to find out that there were dress diary’s even then. A very good read!!
9 people found this helpful
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Virginia Dunton
5.0 out of 5 stars good value
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
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book rated good- I rate excellant! no delivery problems-very timely. Well pleased customer
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alsoanonyma
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2023
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The 'dress diary' is a 19th century scrapbook of cuttings of fabric, some of which have short identification of someone's name or an occasion. The volume was purchased for a pittance from a London market stall, then kept for 50 years before being given as a gift to a scholar of fashion. Some of the fabrics' secrets are revealed by means of detective techniques of genealogical and societal research -- by means of which the author draws some convincing conclusions about the owner of this diary, and from there presents a fascinating array of enlightening yet admittedly limited speculations about the owner, her husband, his work in the fabric manufacture and trade at the height of the Industrial Revolution in northwest England, their families and friends, and their travels to the Far East. The fabric bits reveal pattern, colour, texture, heft of what the mills were weaving to meet the demand for cloth which people chose to wear. Other illustrations depict contemporary garments which back in the day would have been made of this stuff! In all, it is a slowly seductive narrative. Like the author, I was curious, and became intrigued by each bit of substantive detail she uncovered in church registers, shipping manifests, and newspapers. And like the author, I wished to know more than the diary on its own was able to reveal.
22 people found this helpful
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DC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2023
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Excellent insight and history of a 19th century woman explored via her chronicles of the clothes she wore. A great read.
4 people found this helpful
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RLC
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally available in US!
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2023
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I’ve waited a while for this book to be released in the US and the wait was worth it. Immediately captivating, enjoy the author’s style. The color plates are excellent.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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J. Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2024
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I bought this on my kindle, I’m reading it currently, it’s absolutely fascinating for anyone with an interest in textiles, fashion or history. It looks at the history of Anne Sykes family who were part of the textile industry through the swatches of fabric in the “diary”, the industrial changes that were taking place at the time and production techniques as well as the purpose of the different layers of clothing in the fight to keep clean and fresh. I can’t rate this book highly enough, others have mentioned that they would like to see more illustrations of the cloth swatches, so far I haven’t seen any and as it’s a kindle version they will only be in grey if there are any, however I do not find that this detracts from my satisfaction with the book in any way.
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Bücherwurm
4.0 out of 5 stars Wunderbares Buch
Reviewed in Germany on December 5, 2023
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Modegeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts. 5 Sterne
One person found this helpful
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Biz Tech Wiz
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating insights to Victorian dress
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2024
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A beautifully told journey to discover fascinating insights to a Victorian lady, her circle of companions against the backdrop of life in Victorian times. I loved reading this book. If you’re interested in Victorian life then you will love this too.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
Fascinating content based on a collection of fabric samples from over a hundred years ago. I would like to have seen descriptions of the fabrics on the pages with the photos, it would save having to flick back and forth trying to identify and match text with picture, but the history of Mrs Sykes is fascinating.
One person found this helpful
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Isfet
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2024
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Interesting book about 19th century fashion and life.
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